Pop singer Sally Anthony debuted with the 1998 EP One Word Poetry Contest, returned in 2001 with another EP entitled Preview, and issued the Come Clean EP in 2002. By this point she'd built a regional following around her home base of Indiana, and secured opening gigs with acts like Chris Isaak and Natalie Merchant. In 2004 Anthony became the co-owner of the Nashville Shock, a semi-pro men's basketball team, and prepared for the release of her full-length debut. But things went a little haywire in late January 2005, when an enraged Anthony tried to fire the Shock's (female) coach during a game. The flap caused her to step down as Shock CEO, and she and her co-owners announced later that they'd be selling the team. Vent, Anthony's debut full-length, was released via her own Gracie imprint in the midst of the Shock controversy. The singer's first major label release is 2007's Goodbye on EMI. ~ Johnny Loftus